Olbic characters
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As Olbische characters in relief symbols are referred to the membership of a building or a city to the influence of the ancient cities of Olba and Diocaesarea in Rauen Cilicia in southern Turkey Show.
background
From Hellenistic to Roman times, Olba was ruled by a dynasty of priests of Zeus Olbios, the center of which was the temple in Diokaisareia. According to the lists of priests on the wall of the Temple of Zeus near the Korykian Grottoes (Korykion Antron), her reign can date from the 3rd to the late 1st century BC. To be dated. The sphere of influence of the temple state extended from the river Kalykadnos (today Göksu ) in the west to the Lamos (today Limonlu Çayı ) in the east. In many places in the region, buildings, mostly towers, were decorated with symbols in relief that indicated that the place belonged to the domain of the dynasty. Occasionally the houses of priests or soldiers were probably also marked in this way. The signs were mostly attached to door lintels, many of which are still in situ . When the region in the 1st century BC Became independent, the Cilikians adopted the symbols on their coins.
meaning
Some of the symbols have a meaning known from the Greek culture. The lightning bolt is known as the symbol of Zeus and the club as that of the demigod Heracles . Zeus was already venerated as Tarhunz in the Luwian Kizzuwatna , which roughly corresponds to the area of Cilicia . The god most venerated in Olba next to Zeus was Hermes . For him, both the kerykeion called Caduceus and the phallus . The latter can also be interpreted as a sign of fertility. Murat Durukan, archaeologist in Mersin , sees a connection with Hermes in his function as a psychopompos and the transfer of souls to Hades in the phalluses on tombs, such as in Mezgit Kalesi . Hermes was worshiped as a runtiya in Luwian times . Numerous names on the list of priests in Korykion Antron are derived from Runtiya and Tarhunz. The cult of Herakles, known in Cilicia, also had its forerunner in the Luwian times in the worship of the god Sandon. Another cult that existed in Olba was the Dioscuri Castor and Polydeukes, represented by the Dioskur cap as symbols .
There are various theories about the origin of the symbols. The Turkish archaeologist Serra Durugönül , who heads the Center for Archaeological Research in Cilicia at the University of Mersin , assumes that corresponding symbols on Macedonian coins served as models and that these were introduced by the Seleucids in Cilicia. Durukan sees a connection to the Galatians , who spread out in Asia Minor after the end of the Seleucid rule and with whom the Olbeers maintained good relations according to his theory, for the symbols representing weapons, shield, sword and club . The meaning and origin of the triskelis are unclear, it is generally seen as a symbol for sun and light, which was also known to the Galatians. A connection to Zeus is also suggested. The meaning of the wreath symbol is also not clarified.
The signs were first described in 1890 by the British archaeologist James Theodore Bent , who referred to them as the Cilician Symbols . Serra Durugönül described them in 1998 in her study of towers and settlements in Rough Cilicia and finally Murat Durukan in 1999 in a publication on the Table ronde international d'Istanbul on the subject of Cilicia.
Club at the tower of Sarayın
Phallus at the burial house of Mezgit Kalesi
Kerykeion on a lintel at Kürtesir Kalesi near Işıkkale
Club and wreath on the tower of Akkum
Triskelis on the Kanlıdivane tower
distribution
| image | object | Occurrence | Meaning and origin |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Wreath club palmettes | Meydan Kalesi | |
|
sign | Şaha Kanlıdivane ( Kanytelleis ) Hacıömerli Poşlu |
Galatians or Macedonians fighting power |
|
shield and sword | Kaleyakası Hançerli |
Galatians or Macedonians fighting power |
|
Club | Efrenk Kaleyakası Dibisulu Hisarın Sarayın Akkum Yeğenli Hançerli Boyan Paslı Demircili ( Imbriogon ) Karaböcülü |
Heracles Galatians or Macedonians |
|
Triskelis | Kanlıdivane ( Kanytelleis ) | Sun, light; Zeus? |
|
phallus |
Esenpınar (Güvere) Çatıören Emirzeli Demircili ( Imbriogon ) Karaböcülü Mezgit Kalesi |
Hermes / fertility |
|
wreath | Akkum Boyan Demircili ( Imbriogon ) |
|
|
Lightning bolt | Kaleyakası Poşlu |
Zeus |
|
unknown | Dibisulu | |
|
Kerykeion | Dibisulu Çatıören Yapılıkaya Kürtesir Kalesi |
Hermes |
|
Dioskurenkappe ( Pileus ) | Efrenk Dibisulu Poşlu Yeğenli Mancınıkkale Hançerli Karaböcülü Uzuncaburç ( Diokaisareia ) |
Dioscuri |
literature
- James Theodore Bent: Cilician Symbols In: The Classical Review Vol. 4, 1890, pp. 321-322.
- Serra Durugönül: Towers and Settlements in Rough Cilicia (= Asia Minor Studies Volume 28). Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 1998 ISBN 3-7749-2840-1 , pp. 85-89.
- Murat Durukan: A study of cult figures and symbols in Olba In: Éric Jean, Ali M. Dinçol, Serra Durugönül (eds.): La Cilicie - Espaces et Pouvoir locaux, Actes de la Table ronde internationale d'Istanbul, 2–5 November 1999 Institut Français d'Études anatoliennes, Istanbul / De Boccard, Paris 2001, ISBN 2-906053-64-3 , pp. 327-348.
